Family Bond
by WineRedRoses
Summary: Chasity MacRay hates Charlestown. Ten years ago, she has left her own hometown with the purpose to never return. But after receiving a letter, which informs her about the death of her father, she has to return and face her brother Doug, old friends and old enemies. Can the runaway handle it? Jem/OC
1. Chapter 1

**After thinking about it I've finally decided to start this story. Hope you like it.**

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**Prologue: The Runaway**

With a big paper bag, which was fully loaded with food and which almost entirely concealed my vision, I walked along the dark streets of the Bronx. The bag was really heavy and it was late at night, but between the Juilliard School, which I had attended, and my job at the video store I had no time, so I either had to buy late at night or risk starvation. Of course, I chose the first option.

After I had run away from my old home, life was not really easy, even though it was tough before. Without knowing where to go I was just up and away, leaving absolutely everything and everyone behind me, only to finally end up in New York City. I the first months alone I went from one children's home to another until I finally landed in New York where I had stayed. The first years in New York had been chaotic and I have to admit that I did my Charlestown background credit. The purpose of running away was to not become a mobster like half of my family and half of Charlestown, but I had no job, no money, I was alone, in short; my chances had been bad. If I had not met Claire Keesey, probably my only friend in the entire world, I would not have achieved anything in life.

But thanks to her help in many things I have done it and even made up for my High School degree. Finally, I even got a scholarship for the Juilliard School in Manhattan. At the end of the year I will complete my undergraduate studies and start my master there, for which I have saved money for the last few years. Claire was not in New York City anymore because she had to move for professional reasons. Perhaps it was destiny, because she had moved right to the city from which I had fled ten years ago. Though she had invited my several times, I had never visited her. I promised myself never to go back to Charlestown.

Why the fuck should I return?

I had left everything behind me. My father, my brother…everyone. And this was good. I was sure that the jerks form Charlestown considered me a traitor because I had left the damned town. I do not give a shit.

The only one I missed sometimes was Deborah Gallagher, a 51 years old nurse who had previously taken care of us and whom we had often visited after school. But I could not risk it for several reasons to contact her, no matter how much I wanted it.

Even though living in a small shit hole in the Bronx, I had a good life.

Everything was perfect.

Till that evening.

With one hand I pulled my keys out of my jeans and searched for the one for the mailbox. With the bag still in my arm, I grabbed for the only letter which was lying there.

Frowning, I stared at the mailer.

It was definitely addressed to me, Chasity MacRay. With a deeper look I recognized that the letter was from Charlestown. But it was not from Claire.

The only three words, which crossed my mind, were "What the fuck?"

I carefully placed my purchase on the rotten wood floor of the hallway before I opened the letter, still surprised.

My eyes flitted briefly across the sheet, but it was enough to understand what had happened.

_Dear Miss MacRay_

_Unfortunately, we have to inform you about an unlucky incident….._

…_stepped in his prison cell…_

…_.We are afraid that this could not be prevented…._

…_it happened unexpected…_

…_deepest sympathy…._

… _inform you about the death of your father, Stephen MacRay…._

It took a minute to understand what was written in the letter. My father had died.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, thank you so much for reviewing, following, etc. And I'm sorry that it took so long. I tried my best with the Boston accent, but every piece of avice is welcomed :)**

**Hope you'll enjoy :)**

**Chapter 1: I'm coming home**

It is weird that the weather often mirrors the mood when you are sad and depressed. Though that day was perhaps the most horrible day in my entire life, the sun barely shined so bright. Suddenly, I understood Claire better than before. I understood that sunny days implicate bad memories because sunny days meant the same for me. From now on sunny days would remind me of the death of a beloved person.

When I got the message, I could not believe it at the beginning. It felt as if it was not real, as if it was just a damned nightmare from which I would awake soon. But it was not and I did not wake up. Finally, I had to accept that it was reality.

My dad died and today was his funeral.

Exhausted, my hands ran over my pale face. I got up from the couch, which I had sat on, halfheartedly to walk into the bathroom.

The intensive cold of the bathroom tiles shocked me at first because I was not aware how less I had sensed the surrounding.

As f mesmerized I walked toward the sink to wash my face with freezing cold water.

After turning off the water tap, I just stood there, propping myself with my hands on the sink.

_Maybe I'm still dreaming?_ I thought and raised my eyes.

Without any sign of an emotion my reflection stared at me, eyes red and surrounded by dark circles, my skin pale and lifeless.

_Buck up, Doug!_ I commanded myself, splashed cold water in my face and stepped out of the bathroom, but that time with more speed and energy in my motion.

In the morning, all I had wanted to do was to call Claire, spend the day with her or just to lie

in my bed and just don't do anything and don't think about anything. But I could not skip my dad's funeral. It was bad enough that one of his children won't appear.

At that moment I just realized that my younger sister Chasity would not come.

How could I forget her? Though she ran away ten years ago, just after Jem's arrest, but still how could I forget my own sister offhandedly? And not only today, but the whole time?

Pangs of remorse plagued me while the wish to look for her was rising.

Of course I had tried to find her back then, but without success and I had given up soon.

"Hey, Dougy. Ya a'right?" I heard Jem's voice. I turned to face him, trying to smile unconstrained, but I was sure that I did not succeed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just gimme time and I'll be ready", I answered before disappearing to get ready for the funeral.

The day had come and it was a bad day. It was like hell. The only face that I appreciated was Deborah's except of Jem of course. Deborah was a 51 years old nurse who had known us throughout our lives and who had cared for us.

I was fed up with all the sympathy game, therefore I was glad that at least Jem skipped it, but as I attained in front of the gravestone and Deborah walked to me and just hugged me, I felt good. Warmth enwrapped me and I could forget all the pain for a second.

"Thanks", I replied and it was even a honest thanks. She smiled at me warmly, stroked my arm briefly before I stepped forward while she was standing behind.

Lots of people had come. Charlestown was not the biggest town and my father was a known person. He had preferred to go to prison than to betray accomplices. I flitted through the crowd but I was not able to filter anybody. I did not even know who I wanted to find in the crowd.

When the pastor started to speak I didn't listen to him. I was just standing motionless next to Jem and stared at the gravestone of my dad. After that we would go to the church next to the cemetery for the commemorative address which would take place there.

Memories flashed through my mind while I was smiling melancholically. When I was a little kid, everything had been easier. Now all I had was Jem, I was a bank robber and was in love with a woman who used to be our hostage.

"Ya sure you wanna go through it?", Jem asked me while we were standing in the shadow of a tree a little bit aside the church's gate to avoid that everyone who passed me offered his condolences to me.

"No", was my simple answer, leaning against the tree while looking to the church which people streamed in.

Until that moment no one stuck out of the crowd, but as my eyes slid to her, I straightened up instantly.

Full of surprise I stared at Claire who was dressed in a plain knee-length black dress and walked up the steps to the church with someone whose face I could not see.

"What's she doin' here?", I wondered. While I was still starring at her astonished, she stopped just in front of Deborah. The unknown black haired girl was pulled in a gently hug by Deborah.

_Who is she?_

Not till she turned and accorded me a look on her almost unaltered face, I recognized her. Her hair was slightly longer than previous and she had some waves in them, her facial expressions seemed more serious and mature in contrast to her previous fresh expression. But she nearly didn't changed wherefore I recognized her immediately.

"Hey, look who's the'e", I heard Dez voice who apparently addressed Jem next to me while I was still enchained and staring at the girl with the raven hair who was standing emotionless like puppet next to Deborah.

"What da fuck is she doin' he'e?" Jem asked slightly pissed, but I ignored him. All I could do was staring at her.

"Isn't that Chasity", Krista, who suddenly appeared next to her brother, asked as surprised as I was.

"Yeah. That's her. That's my sister", I whispered in response, my eyes still focused on her when she suddenly turned. Our eyes met and she stared at me for a second with a blank look before turning away and stepping in the church with Deborah and Claire.

She appeared after ten years and all she had to spare for me was a brief glance which did not even last five seconds? I was pissed and even worse disappointed. But what had I expected? That she would hug me tempestuously and everything would be like the past. Nothing would be like the previous times, also because the twonies would treat her even worse than a toonie, she was a traitor and an outsider because she left Charlestown without looking back.

On the other hand I felt happy. She was here to commemorate our dad which meant that she cared for her family. It did not care what the other thought of her, not even that my friends and especially Jem hated her for what she had done. I would never hate her. I wanted to do everything to become a family again, all I had was her.

I glanced at Jem whose gaze was still clued at the spot where Chasity had been standing. He looked pissed, really pissed. When I had visited him at Walpole for the first time, I had told him that Chasity left. Anger flashed in his eyes, he was totally in rage. But I could understand him. Even if he and Chasity had often brawled and had not really got along with each other, we had always been a group, maybe even a family and we lived together. Jem's family received us. We should had stick together and we should had been there for Jem, but she just ran away.

"Let's go in", I said determinedly. I was sure that I could straighten everything. We were a family and we would always be a family.

I searched the church for my sister and spotted her black hair in the middle row on the right side between Deborah and Claire.

Wherefrom did she know Claire?

When I turned to Jem, he stared daggers at her back.

"What da fuck does she think she is?", he murmured and caused me to shake my head.

Jem really could be vengeful.

"That she is the daughter of the deceased" I answered but Jem did not respond anything, instead he took place on a seat in the left side, some rows further behind of Chasity.

My sight slid to my sister, who sat motionless, over and over again while some people went to speaker's desk in turn to tell how good and brave my father was.

After some minutes the pastor was standing at the speaker's desk and asked if someone else wanted to tell something about the deceased. His sight slid through the crowd and briefly rested on me then on Chasity. Of course, because we as the children of the deceased did not say anything.

I cleared my throat before stepping to the speaker's desk determinedly.

It was time to show Chasity clearly that I was not angry with her and that I wanted everything to be like we were kids.

I looked at my audience, my eyes flitted briefly to Chasity who still looked emotionless before I started to speak.

"My dad barely showed feelings, not even to his children, perhaps because he wanted to be brave like lots of people mentioned before. I know that he never had shown fear; that he always pretended that everything was alright so that his children would not worry. No matter what happened he always said that he would carry it off and everything would be fine again."

My eyes wandered to Chasity, who just stared at her lap. But I continued with confidence.

"Even in tough time his attitude didn't change. I think if you stick together as a family that everything…"

Suddenly Chasity whispered something before she stood up and squeezed her way through the row while I was still talking; my eyes on Chasity who now tramped her way out with fast steps and lowered head. At the end of the corridor she pushed the door open and ran out.

I stopped speaking after she disappeared of my visual gaze.

A mumbling ran through the crowd and I was sure that Chasity just got on their bad side even more.

"Thanks for coming", I muttered in the microphone before stepping down of the stage.

_I gotta speak to Deborah urgently_ I thought and planned to speak with her and Claire at the funeral service which would take place at Deborah's house.

I stood leaning against a tree with a beer in my hands in Deborah's garden, a place which used to be a hideaway for us. Now, it was full of people who were dressed in black and had a mourning expression on their faces.

I looked for Jem and spotted him at buffet where he helped himself. Even though he knew that I wanted to reconcile with my sister, his attitude toward her did not changed but I could not handle his childish behavior.

"Hey", I was greeted. I turned to face the person who stepped next to me. It was Claire who gave me a warm smile.

"Hey" I replied.

"I am surprised that you are Chasity's brother", she said and reminded me that I did not know how they got to know each other.

"Hey and I am surprised that you know my sis" I said while locking my eyes with hers.

"You know that I am helping in the Girls `n Boys Club. And I worked at youth centers before and well, one day I have met a 17 year old runaway in a youth center in New York City", she explained.

"My sister" I murmured.

"Yes. What a strange coincidence, isn't it?", she asked, but I just gave a shrug.

"Maybe destiny" I replied, my gaze looking for Deborah with whom I wanted to talk but she tried to get rid of me. When I asked her about Chasity, she just replied that my sister had whispered "I can't bear it" before she had left.

But I could not find Deborah, instead I spotted Chasity who just stepped through the door into the garden, the whiskey bottle in her right hand almost empty. Obviously drunken, she careened some steps forward before getting everyone's attention. Deborah stepped next to her, but Chasity just took a big swig from the bottle, shook Deborah's hand, which Deborah pacifyingly rested one her shoulder, off.

"Hey, you all had expected me to talk 'bout my dad", she called and cleared her throat briefly before continuing. The atmosphere more than tensed, everybody was staring at her in confusion, waiting full of curiosity for what she had to say.

"I was sick of listening how you all claim that my dad was brave. I gonna tell you the truth 'bout my dad."

She took a big swig again before continuing.

"He was a coward. He didn't give a shit 'bout his family. He set his fuckin' _job_ over his family. He was a selfish coward who destroyed not only his life but the lives of his family. Destroying lives is probably the only thing that he was good at, well, apart from his job. He didn't give a fuck if he let his family down or not. And what is left over from him? A pile of debt."

Chasity stopped, her gaze fixed while she could not suppress a gulp. Again, she took a sip of the whiskey in her hand. Her gaze was directed against the sky.

"So, thanks dad. Thanks for ruining my life even after your death!"

Her eyes slid back down and met mine. I was stunned like the most of the people. All I could do was staring at her.

Had she just really said that? Did this really happen?

I did not know what to make of it, because I did not assume such a reaction, such an emotional breakout.

She emptied the bottle of whiskey, let it fall on the ground on which it landed with a dull sound before she turned to totter away.

"Chas!", Claire called after her and ran to her, Chasity did not stop and just went on barely able to walk.

Everyone was quiet, staring confused and disapprovingly either at the door, through which Chasity disappeared, or at each other. A murmur rose but I ignored it.

Maybe it would be more difficult to reconcile than I thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everybody, I know it's been a while and I'm so sorry. I've written half of the chapter but after reading your great and really motivating reviews I couldn't let you wait anymore. But I gotta admit that I didn't proofread it so I hope there are no nasty mistakes. Thanks for your patience :) Enjoy it :)**

**Chapter 2: When she left**

_„I hate you, James Coughlin", he heard her screaming just after the door got slammed._

_Doug was sitting in the kitchen with his friends, eating burger as his sister walked in. Her angry gaze was looking for a certain person who just walked to the bathroom._

_"Where is da ass? I gonna kill 'em right now!", she hissed in anger but none of the guys were impressed. That is the most normal thing, Chas and Jem brawling and hating each other. It was the same game every day._

_Her fists were clenched, her knuckles white because of the pressure, her teeth pressed together in her anger. Her eyes flashed up with pure hatred._

_„Right he'e, sho'ty, no need to shout", Jem said calmly, while walking passed her to take a seat next to Doug. He grabbed a burger, toke the crinkly and overlooked with grease marks paper off and bit hungrily into the burger while Chas' face expressed the anger which boiled inside of her._

_She hissed loudly, ready to tear Jem apart, let her backpack land with a thud on the ground, just before she jumped forward but Doug was faster. He immediately stood in front of her, kept her on her shoulder so that she was not able to really kill Jem, who just kept his cool and continued eating calmly._

_„What has he done this time?", he asked resignedly as the every day quarrelling between both of them vastly got on his nerves. The others found it very amusing but they did not have to live with Jem and Chasity. Although Chas was now 15 years old and Jem almost 18, both were acting like five year old kids and he of course had to babysit._

_„Dat bastard signed with my name for da Cheerleader team!", she answered with anger in her eyes, focusing on Jem, who was still eating and not very impressed of_ _her._

_"He did what?"_

_Both, Dez and Gloansy started to laugh really loud which pissed Chas even more._

_"Shut ya fuckin' mouthes!", she snapped at time._

_"Why did ya do dat? Ya know she hates da Cheerleaders", Doug asked him and he answered not looking at Doug._

_"Yeah, I know, dat' s why I did it."_

_Chas wanted to pounce on him again, but Doug could hold her with effort._

_"Let me kill `em!", she hissed between her clenched teeth._

_Jem swallowed the last bite, grabbed a napkin to wipe your mouth before he looked at her with a wry smirk._

_„Why are ya so upset? They won't accept ya into da cheerleader squad anyway because ya a bumpkin" he replied coolly._

_Doug shook his head in resignation. Of course he had to top it._

_„Bet, they will", was all, Chas replied. Doug looked at his sister full of surprise. She hated the cheerleaders and now she wanted to join them just to get her over on Jem. Sometimes, he forgot how proud Chas could be._

_„They'll beg me to join 'em. And I gonna rub it into ya fuckin' face, wanker!", she said before leaving with her chin up._

* * *

My head boomed as I slowly arrived from dreamland to reality. Groaning in pain I tried to pick myself up, but every muscle of my body hurt. Since when have I been so heavy?

With effort I managed to turn on my back. Cautiously, I opened my eyes. I realized that I was in a darkened room. It was difficult to straighten my upper body, but I propped myself on my arms. I scanned the room, but nothing in it seemed familiar.

_Where the hell am I?_ I wondered, but the piercing pain in my head made it impossible to take any clear thought.

With one hand I massaged my pounding temples, while I tried hard to remember the last day and how I ended up here. Another good question would be where I am, because I was sure that I have never been here since the room did not seem familiar to me.

It was a bedroom and I was lying on the bed. The curtains were drawn to prevent the sun rays to brighten the room. That was probably better due to my condition when it was dark.

The sudden and in my opinion to noisy opening of the door drew my attention. My eyes were wide open in shock at first, but then I fixed a person, who entered the room vigorously.

It was Claire, my friend who had helped me in New York in a youth center.

"Good morning, sunshine," she teased me with a big grin on her beaming face.

"You rejoice in my misery, aren't you?" I replied sullenly but I knew that it was not true. She was probably worried but the optimist inside of her led her to look at everything in a positive perspective. But I could not see anything positive in having a bad hangover.

Before I could say anything to stop her, she walked to the curtains and pulled them in one fell swoop. Rustling, the curtains opened and gave free passage for the sun so that the room was flood with sun rays. Painfully, the light burned in my eyes, which I immediately closed, but it did not help. The pain in my head grew.

After a while my eyes adapted to the sudden brightness and I dared to open my eyes again just to look straight into the inquiring eyes of Claire, who by now took a seat on the bed next to me.

"Well, well, after all I've visited you", I laughed humorless as I realized that I was in Charlestown, my damned hometown.

Claire examined me critically before she raised her voice.

"Do you remember what happened yesterday or have you drunk too much whiskey?" she asked vengefully, causing me to bite on my bottom lip. She always did the same to cause me a guilty conscience. Her strategy was to show me that she is disappointed and disapproved what I did whenever I fucked up. Mostly it worked.

Images of yesterday flashed through my head. Memories spill on the surface. And I did not care. I felt that I was right.

"I just said the truth" I finally said before I got up sighing and walked to the door, which probably led to the bathroom, with quick steps. And I was lucky that I landed in the bathroom. Determined, I walked to the sink to splash a surge of water toward my face.

After turning off the faucet, I immediately noticed Claire, who was standing behind me leaning against the door frame.

"Have you got headache pills here?" I mumbled, not even interested in the slightest to see her disapproving glare.

"In the medicine cabinet."

I dug out a small pill, turned to bruised pass Claire, who still stood at the door frame with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Of course, she followed me watching every of my movements while I was paving my way to the kitchen.

I searched for the glasses and filled one with water while Claire was still watching me in silence.

Satisfied sighing I slammed the glass on the kitchen counter, a huge mistake as it turned out, because my headaches were present and after the loud bang the stabbing pain became even worse.

"Do you want to star at me all the time?", I asked her abjectly. I did not want her to be angry with me, but I was right. Yeah, I was damn right because everything I said was true. After all I lost all my savings thanks to my dad's depts., which were recovered from me. And due to that, I lost my place at Juilliard and my life in New York.

I knew that my little "speech" made me even more unpopular than I've been anyway. By running away I became a traitor, which was even worse than being a toonie, and after dragging their hero, who preferred to go to jail for 40 years and left his family in the lurch instead of telling the truth, through the mud, my reputation certainly did not get better.

Why haven't you told me that you are from Charlestown?", Claire wanted to know.

Curiosity and disappointment, which she vainly tried to cover, waved in her voice.

I sighed. Of course this had to happen now. I've been lucky that she did not asked me out when I told her that I would come to Charlestown for the funeral of my father.

Maybe I should not have come. I would not have made a scene. But fuck it! It was the truth. My father was no hero, never been one, as everybody claimed. He was a cowardly egoist who abandoned his family.

"I am a runaway, remember?", I answered her not willing to talk about it.

I straightened up my gaze and tried to show my annoyance as obvious as possible. But she ignored it. She came closer to me, her eyes fixed on mine.

"And why haven't you told me that you have a brother?", she asked.

"What?" It came out in a jerk. I was perplexed while starring at her.

"Doug, your brother, you remember him?"

I stared at her in disbelief before I passed her shaking my head.

I was looking for my jacket even without remembering if I had one or not.

I still was wearing the black blouse and the black knee-length pencil skirt.

"Your shoes are at the front door and your cell on the coffee table", she informed me.

I grabbed my cell very fast and glanced at the display.

Three missed calls.

Two from Debbie, one from DJ

_Fuck!_ I thought. I rushed passing Claire and hastily pulled on my black high heels.

"Yeah, thanks for your help. We'll talk later, 'kay. Gotta go to Debbie" I quickly called over my shoulder and ran to the door.

"Call me whenever you need something. You know I'm there for you!", Claire shouted after me and caused me to smile.

She was always like this. Always playing the older wise sister, who cares for other and therefor works voluntary.

And I loved her for that and I needed her. Especially now, since I knew that my wonderful life in New York City was over and I was stuck in this hell hole called Charlestown.

I walked along the streets while typing a message in my cell, not paying attention to the street.

After raising my eyes, I froze in my movement. Petrified I looked at a group standing next to a car. I knew them very well and, actually, I did not want to meet them. But I should have known that I could run into them since they did not live far from here.

My brother Doug was standing with his friends on the other side of the road and they were talking. While Dez and Albert, known as Gloansy, seemed to be amused, Doug did not seem to be thrilled by the things both of them said.

My gaze slid to Jem, who stood with his back turned to me, so that I at least did not have to see him.

A lump was stuck in my throat. I swallowed hard and my eyes were clued to the small group, which now included Krista and dyed blond.

Instantly, I tore myself away from the sight, turned on my heels and ran around the corner, before any of them could notice me.

I walked as fast as I could on the high heels, ignoring the suspicious and some hateful glares of the people who recognized me.

I clearly remembered Doug's gaze yesterday, I remembered what he said, and they were just empty words without any meaning for me.

Family? We had not seen each other for ten years, because he left me in the lurch just like dad. He preferred this damned city and everything else to me. I did not care about him. I did not care about all of them.

Unfortunately, I was aware that I would encounter them; sooner or later. After all, I was stuck in this fucking city full of douchebags.

* * *

My day had started bad. And that was depending only on the thought that that little traitor was back in town. I did not want to think of her and just banish her completely from my mind, but she popped in my head again and again. I hated her, I was sure that I hated her for what she had done.

I remembered the day very clearly when Doug visited me at jail for the first time. And how he told me that Chasity left.

I was boiling with rage while the desire to smash everything to bits grew inside of me more and more. I kicked a chair and some things in my surroundings, but the pure anger did not disappear. I would have liked to run after her instantly, but I was stuck in jail.

And now she was back, as if nothing had happened. And although she was back for almost a week, I had not met her for now. Thankfully.

I stood leaning against my car with Gloansy and Dez. It was late in the evening and we waited for Doug, who delayed a bit.

"Hey, guess whe'e da traitor lives now", Dez started to talk about her to my regret. I grunted in annoyance, but he just ignored it.

"She lives with Debbie", he continued speaking about her and I frowned instantly. Of course she lived with Deborah. Apart of this Claire, whenceever they know each other, and Dougy, Debbie was perhaps the only one who did not hate Chasity. Especially her little speech at the funeral of her dad made her even more unpopular.

"I don't give a fuck 'bout dat bitch!" I snapped and turned my head just to spot Dougy approaching us.

"Hey guys", he greeted us with a big smile.

"What's up dude? Whe'e have ya been?" I asked, glad to change the topic. That's what I thought.

"I've spoken to Debbie. I could find out that she arranged a job for Chas at Luke's", he answered still with his stupid smile on his face.

Luke's was a small scruffy diner, where we often went because the burgers were still the best in town. I frowned angrily, my narrowed eyes fixed on Dougy not believing what he just said. I definitely could not endure that little traitor slut at my favorite diner.

Dez and Gloansy just roar with laughter at the same time, earning an angry glare from Doug.

"Hey, dude, don't worry. Remember da week she was a cheerleader? At least she didn't end up like da rest of 'em as a druggie or a whore", Gloansy said still laughing.

Yeah, I remembered that week. I signed her for the cheerleader audition and we were all surprised that she made it in the team. She was a cheerleader for a week, also wearing a tight short cheerleader uniform. A very worth view, but still, she was that bitch who just left me while I was rotting in jail.

"Yeah, so what?" I asked really pissed again, focusing Doug who just rolled his eyes.

"Do whatever ya wanna do. I gonna have a talk with my sister", he said and turned to walk away.

I scowled.

_I don't give a fuck!_

Actually, I did. I wanted to see her again. I wanted to yell at her and take my anger out on her. She deserved to feel the misery, the rage and the hatred I had felt when she left.


	4. Chapter 4

**I am so sorry that it took so long again. I had lots of college stuff to do. I am really sorry. So about the story, it is set after the hostage-taking of Claire, but she of course does not know about Doug's bank robber career. Chas and Claire have met each other in New York City ( don't know where Claire is originally from, just chose NYC). I 've forgotten the name of the guy Jem killed. Was it Brandon, Branley or Bradley? I just chose Branley. Just tell me if I chose the wrong name :) **

**Enjoy!**

_She stepped in the house very fast and just ran into her room._

_Doug and Jem where at home in the kitchen, looking at each other in confusion. _

"_What have ya done yet?" Doug asked in disapprove but Jem put up his hands._

"_Nothin'! I'm innocent this time!" he assured, but Doug could not believe him. He stood up and walked through the room to stop just in front of the door of Chasity's room, which she had to share with Krista._

_He knocked at the door, but Chas did not response. He wanted to go in, but the door was locked._

"_Hey, Chas. Ya a'right?", he asked. She did not answer immediately. Again, he knocked at the door and shouted her name. _

"_Chas!"_

"_I'm a'right, 'kay. No need to worry, just chill", she shouted back._

_Doug stood in front of her locked door, not knowing what to do. Finally he decided do believe her._

_As he turned around, he saw Jem leaning against the door frame with a curious expression._

"_What's up with her?", he wanted to now but all Doug could do was to shrug._

"_You'll never believe what happened after school", Krista said, entering the living room where Doug and Jem were watching TV. They didn't even look at the younger Coughlin who really seemed to be excited._

"_Branley waited for Chasity in front of the school", she started to report. Doug and Jem straightened up just at the same time, Doug looking worried while Jem had an angry expression on his face._

„_What?", they asked._

„_They had a fight. She has broken his noise and then she ran away from him and his friends. But I'm not sure where she is now", Krista continued even more excited._

_Doug stood up and ran to the door again, closely followed by Jem._

_He knocked hard against the door._

"_Chas! Chasity! Chas open the door! I said open the fuckin' door, now!", he shouted completely inflamed with rage._

_But nothing happened._

"_Fuck!" he mumbled before taking a step backwards. He raised his leg and kicked against the door. Once, twice, before the door slammed open._

_He stepped in, his gaze looking for his sister, but all he spotted was an empty bedroom with a wide opened window._

_He walked to the window, his eyes searching outside for her, but he did not spot her._

_He ran through the streets of Charlestown. All he wanted to do was to kick this bastard's ass. But first, he had to look for his sister, he had to get sure that she is alright. _

_He was not sure where she went, but, actually, there was just one place she could be now. He walked determinedly to the house across the street, closely followed by Jem. _

_He stepped the stairs in front of the house and knocked hard at the front door. _

_It took some seconds before the door was opened and revealed them a confused looking Deborah._

"_Whe'e is she?" Doug asked not waiting for an answer, instead pushed himself pass her into the house._

_He walked straight to the kitchen, where he spotted her._

_She straightened up immediately, her face expressing surprise and shock. _

"_Doug. What da…?" she started, but he interrupted her by walking toward her and grabbing her. He stared at her bruise under her eye._

"_Why didn't ya tell me?!" he shouted at her, shaking her slightly. _

_She took a step backwards and shook off his hands._

"_Dougy, chill. Nothin' happened", she tried to calm him down while her eyes spotted Jem who looked pissed._

"_Nothin' happened?! Look at ya. Branley did dat to ya, right?", Doug said still upset._

_Deborah stepped into the kitchen and walked next to Chas._

"_Doug, Jem, clam down. Both of you." She warned them, her arm protectively wrapped around Chasity's shoulders._

_Doug closed his eyes trying to do what Debbie just ordered him._

_As he opened his eyes again, Chasity swallowed._

"_Why didn't ya tell me? I would …"_

"_Kill him? And dat is da reason I didn't tell ya", she explained not able to look into his judging eyes._

"_What da fuck, Chas? He punched ya up and ya didn't even tell us. He deserved to be…" Jem began as angry as Doug, standing next to his best friend._

"_No, just…just promise me dat ya won't do anythin' stupid, 'kay?", she begged her brother looking at him with big caring eyes._

_Doug stepped toward his sister. He raised his arm to stroke one of her black strand of hair behind her ear._

"'_kay, I promise", he whispered, sighing in resignation._

_After walking out of the house, Jem could not contain himself._

"_I'm gonna look for Branley now. I gonna beat his fuckin' head."_

"_What? Wait, Jem, we promised…", Doug began, but Jem interrupted him._

"_No, ya have made a promise, not me. See ya at home" was all he said before leaving._

"_Just beat 'em up, nothin' else, understood?", Doug shouted after him. But Jem didn't answer. _

"_Fuck!" Doug hissed, pulling out his cell to call someone who could prevent that Jem would do anything stupid._

"_Hey, Dez. Ya gotta go to Jem", he said._

* * *

When I stepped into the diner, the bell immediately started ringing. I let my gaze search the room, before glancing at the black-haired waitress. She wore the typical waitress uniform of the diner; a short black skirt, a white t-Shirt and a white pinafore around her hips. She was taking an order and writing in a small pocketbook. When she turned around to walk toward the counter, I started moving, too. I walked toward her with fast steps and blocked her way.

When her eyes met mine, she frowned.

But she did not say a word, she just sighed in annoyance.

"Hey, Chas. We gotta talk" I simply said while she passed me, ripped the sheet on the top of her pocketbook and put it on the window, which gave a view of the kitchen.

Then she grabbed a rag and went to another table to wipe it clean.

I just followed her.

"I've heard ya 're living with Debbie now. Good to know. And, hey, ya 've got a job thanks to her. I don't know if ya know but Claire and I know each other, so maybe we could go out together for a movie or so. It would be fun…"

Suddenly Chas whirled around to face me. Her angry gaze laid on me.

"Stop talking! Stop following me! Stop asking Debbie out about me! And most of all, stop pretending that everything is alright!", she hissed before she passed me and walked away. But I did not let up. I wanted our family to be reunite, at least the part that was left of it.

"Chas, I know that…" I tried but she harshly interrupted me with a hollow laugh.

"You know nothing", she said turning to face me again, anger, hatred, disappointment and a lot more emotions mirroring in her dark eyes

"I don't have anything to say to you", she said again before disappearing into the kitchen.

I stood there, frozen, not knowing what to do.

* * *

"_See ya, Debbie" she said while stepping down the stairs._

"_Are you sure that I shouldn't drive you home? It's really late, honey" the elder woman asked but Chasity just shook her head to answer._

_Smiling she walked on. When Doug and Jem appeared at Deborah's house, she was shocked. But after promising not to kill Branley or do anything stupid, she felt relieved._

_Lost in her own thoughts, she did not pay attention to her surroundings. As she turned right at a corner, she rushed into some one. She stumbled a few steps backwards. She looked up and asserted in horror into whom she bumped._

_Branley pierced her with his gaze full of hatred. A big black and blue mark decorated his face, a laceration emerged across his right eyebrow, his lips were torn and dried blood glued on it. His broken nose was not new to her because she had broken it during their fight. But the rest of injuries definitely did not derive from her._

„_He'e ya are, bitch!", he hissed and released her from her numbness._

_She turned abruptly and ran away._

_As fast as she could she ran through the streets. With neat steps she sidestepped everyone who stood in her way. She risked a quick glance over her shoulder. Branley and two or three of his friends were close behind her. She speeded up. The wind blew strongly in her face, waving her hair back. _

_She did not know where she ran to. All she could think of was not to stop. _

_Faster, she had to run faster. _

_She again speeded up. Fear grew inside of he, she never had felt that way before. She was always the fearless fresh loud mouth._

_Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! She thought running over the road, ignoring the cars._

_Her eyes spotted a store. She did not think about it. She had no choice than to run in._

_She slammed the door open. As she turned to look outside the store, she saw Branley staring at her in anger._

_She breathed fast and irregular, but she was safe for now. Branley stood outside on the other side of the street, glaring at her in anger, but did not come closer._

_She breathed a sigh of relief._

_As she turned around, she startled instantly. He was peering her and standing really close to her; the florist Fergie. The man everybody feared. _

_She swallowed not knowing what to do._

"_Hi…" she said in a whisper and caused the old man to smile._

"_The young MacRay, right?", he said walking behind the counter._

"_Yeah, right", she answered automatically. Uneasiness ran throughout her body. She tried to suppress a shiver._

_She glanced carefully at another silent but still dangerous man who appeared in the room._

"_I see that you have a problem", the florist said while cutting some flowers._

_She felt a lump in her throat, which just did not disappeared, no matter how much she swallowed. Unable to answer, she just stood there, her eyes focused on the man._

"_I can solve your little problem with Branley", he said. Chasity frowned in disbelief. _

"_Do you want me to?", he asked her, his gaze on her, almost in a challenging way._

_She didn't answer. Instead she asked him: "You wanna kill 'em?"_

_The florist burst out laughing like the other man ._

"_No, kid, I don't have to. But still, I can solve your problem."_

_Chasity just stared at him, not knowing how to feel about it. _

"_You want to get rid of him?", he again asked._

_She nodded, hoping that he can really keep his promise._

_The florist smiled at her. _

"_Good. You can go. I take care of Branley."_

_She stared at him mesmerized, before she moved very fast, almost stumbling out of the store. _

_I hope I did not make a mistake!_

* * *

I was tired when I left the diner. It was never my dream to work at Luke's diner and Luke, obviously the owner of the diner, was not really excited to have me as an employee. He just hired me to do Deborah a favor. If she has not asked him to hire me, he would never had given me the job. Who wants to submit a job to the traitor? My position as a traitor was lower than the one of a toonie. But I give a crap. Who cares about the opinion of underexposed townies?

The cold night air blew around me, and I pulled my black jacket tighter around me. Of course I had my uniform, which was quite tight and so I froze.

I wrapped my arms around my torso, hoping to warm up myself, but it did not help much. I was freezing cold.

Heedless of the way, I dug in my purse for my cell. It was almost midnight, I had been working overtime, but forgot to call Debbie. Instead, I had sent her a short text message. I should rather call and tell her I'm on my way home.

I rummaged in my purse while I was still walking with fast steps, completely engrossed in finding my cell in my purse. I did not pay any attention to the road so it happened. I bumped into someone when I turned the corner. I startled and dropped my purse, the content of my bag spread all over the pavement.

I sighed annoyed as I bent down to grab my stuff and put it back in my purse. The guy I bumped in did not say anything. No apology, no sound.

Curious about the moron I could blame for dropping my bag, I raised my eyes and cursed me for doing it. Instantly, I lowered my eyes again, threw everything into my purse, stood up and walked passed him with fast steps. After turning around the next corner, I was able to breath.

His piercing blue eyes, with which he looked at me resentful and contemptuous, had probably burned in my memories forever.

I hoped to keep out at his way, but that did not really worked.

Of all the people I could rush into, it had to be Jem!

* * *

_Jem sat comfortable on the couch in front of the TV with a beer in his hand when someone slammed the door. Only a fraction of a second later, he heard her angry voice_

"_Ya promised not to do anythin' stupid"_

"_Wrong", he said taking a sip of his beer, before continuing without looking at Chasity._

"_I've not promised you anythin' and it was not stupid. It was appropriated."_

_He felt that she kicked his leg, but all she caused him was an amused laugh._

"_Ya a prick, Jem!", she hissed._

_He was now looking at her. Anger emerged in his eyes. Slowly, he became annoyed that she yelled at him instead of being thankful that he took care of her problem._

_With a jerk, he stood up and looked straight into her confused eyes. He did not say anything; he just stood there, suppressing the rage which boiled inside of him. _

_Chas scowled before she wanted to turn away, but Jem was faster. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to him._

_She looked shocked and slightly scared about his reaction up to his piercing blue eyes which were lingering on her thoughtfully. His gaze swept over her face and stopped at a certain point, her bruise under her eye._

_His hand rose and went to her face, near her bruise. It almost felt as if he stroked her bruise, but she was not sure if she felt his fingers on her injured skin or whether she only imagined the prickling. Gently, he brushed a strand of hair from her face._

_So gently that she really wondered if that was the James Coughlin, who otherwise always annoyed and mucked her._

"_I should've killed 'em for dat", he said in a whisper barely audible._

_Chas swallowed hard not knowing what to think about his odd behavior. _

_But then she decided to be angry. She clenched her fist and punched his chest with her free hand._

„_Ya such a dick", she shouted at him, but he didn't release her wrist._

"_Why? 'Cause I care for ya?", he shouted back, hesitated as he realized what he just said. _

_She looked at him in confusion._

"_I mean, ya Dougy's annoyin' lil sistah. And he is my brother, so I had to help ya out", he said almost whispering._

_Ya, it was not for me, but for Doug, she thought, disappointment stick into her stomach, but she ignored it._

"_Yeah, but it's none of ya business. I handled it, so ya can do whatever ya wanna, no need to worry 'bout me again", she answered pulling her wrist out of Jem's grip. Again, she wanted to turn away. And again, he turned her to face him, grabbing her by her arm this time._

_He pulled her closer to him, their faces just inches away, his angry gaze lingering on her._

"_What did ya give 'em, Chas?", he wanted to know, hissing dangerously at her. She stared at him in shock. He behaved really strange. Was it up to all the beer he drank or had he too much oxy drowned again? Although, he did not behave that strange even when he was on drugs. _

"_I said, dat's none of ya business!", she hissed back._

"_What da fuck did ya give da bastard?" he repeated, stressing every single word._

_Totally confused, Chas stared at him, not sure, where he wanted to get at and why he was suddenly so damned angry. But two could play the game._

„_What da fuck, Jem? What's up with ya?", she wanted to know absolutely annoyed._

"_Did ya allow him to fuck ya?" he spitted and caused to confuse her even more. _

_Her first reaction was shock, but the shock turned into disbelief because his ridiculous question and finally into rage._

_With all her strength she freed her wrist from his grip and moved a few steps backwards while Jem stood frozen, starring daggers to her. _

„_Ya insane! Ya really ask me dat? Hell, no! Ya know what? Mind ya own business and don't butt in mine!"_


End file.
